


Preparations

by ribbons



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Cooking, Fluff, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-06-06
Updated: 2009-06-06
Packaged: 2017-10-09 01:59:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/81757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ribbons/pseuds/ribbons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roger likes paying attention to Mirka and Rafa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Preparations

**Author's Note:**

  * For [okmewriting](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=okmewriting).



> Written in response to okmewriting's plea at [nayika's tennis request meme](http://nayika.livejournal.com/28852.html?view=81588#t81588) for "something happy."
> 
> Disclaimer: Inspired by real people, but fic is fictional. No malice intended, no profit expected.

_Mise en place_: it means "everything in its place," and it's the part of putting together a dinner that Roger most enjoys: he likes peeling, pruning, shaving, carving, and chopping the vegetables for a soup, the fruits for a fondue, the cheeses for a dessert tray. It's cubing bread for croutons and scooping perfect balls out of a just-right melon. It is trimming the wicks of the candles and taking an extra few seconds to dislodge a stray glob of wax on one of the holders.

It is what he meant when he told a journalist almost a decade ago that his favorite pastime with Mirka is eating dinners they've prepared together. Mirka herself has told the press that his cooking isn't much to speak of. Neither of them are telling the entire truth, of course: Roger isn't about to discuss his sex life with the media, and Mirka was being asked about Roger's flaws, which – well, the ones that matter between them aren't ones she's going to discuss with the media either. Which leaves coming up with something suitably meaningful yet trivial: cooking.

Which Roger isn't all that terrible at, in fact, though it's true that he's nowhere near as skilled at it as Mirka, which is partly due to lack of practice and partly due to personality: being a good all-around cook means being willing to wait for results. It is watching patiently from the stands or the sidelines while sugars caramelize and sauces thicken and starches soften. This, Roger is not so keen on. He would rather mince a hundred cloves of garlic than stare down another pot of risotto-to-be, its ingredients so insanely, defiantly slow to meld together.

"It's funny how much that makes you crazy," Mirka notes, amused. "Most people would find it easier to watch a pot boil than to practice slow-motion drop-shots."

"Lucky for me, eh?" Roger smiles as he folds the napkins into perfect pockets for the silverware. He is feeling good about the upcoming tournament: he has won the past two, and made it to at least the semi-final of the previous five. The new au pair is the best they've hired yet, which means both he and Mirka are as well-rested as anyone with two healthily squirmy and shrieky small children can hope to be; he's no more sleep-deprived than the younger players suffering from nervous insomnia or access to too many glittering parties. Rafa Nadal has returned to the circuit, well-rested and ready to push Roger further than anyone else in their league has been capable of doing. There are plenty of players physically up to the task, but there is something about competing against Rafa that adds extra zest to Roger's training. He's learned to love practicing – it's what separates the men from the boys, after all, and why his career will outlast players a decade younger than he – and he loves it all the more when he's about to face Rafa. Rafa makes him want to practice six hours instead of five; to dissect five tapes instead of four; to play seven sets instead of three. Playing Rafa is the difference between singing for spare change on a street corner and standing on the stage of Carnegie Hall: there's pleasure and potential profit to be had in either activity, but let's be real, who wouldn't practice harder for the larger stage – the one with the higher concentration of discerning listeners?

Rafa is coming over for dinner. He's bringing dessert, and Roger hopes it's the chocolate-and-cayenne cake the Spaniard treated them to a couple months ago. He loves the unexpected blend of sweetness and heat: it reminds him of the thousands of kisses he's shared with Mirka. It reminds him of Rafa's arm resting across his shoulders, its weight simultaneously comforting and thrilling. He loves preparing coffee exactly the way they each prefer it, and placing each cup at precisely the right spot near or in front of them – close enough to be within reach, but not so close that they can't pull him down for a murmured "ich liebe dich" or a quick thank-you kiss. Preparations are a form of paying attention, and paying attention to the people he loves makes him happy.


End file.
